The Hearts of Shinobi
by DaemonArts
Summary: Naruto/Kingdom Hearts crossover. NaruSaku and SoraKai. When Madara gains control of the Heartless and Nobodies, Naruto and Sakura will have to travel to another universe to stop Akatsuki from taking over not just one, but every world. On Hiatus.
1. Preface

**Preface**

"There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened."

-Douglas Adams

Author of _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_

--

Many scientists have theorized the existence of parallel universes; of "alternate realities," if you will. Imagine an alternate universe where, instead of advancing in military technology, countries still trained assassins of ancient arts, designed for stealth and deceit, and demons raged across the world. Imagine another where travel between different worlds was possible, and the very darkness inside you're heart could eventually manifest itself and destroy the ones around you.

While the theory of alternate universes may seem plausible to some, and ludicrous to others, proof of such things has so far been nonexistent. However, if there were in fact other universes out there, where different people lived in different worlds, at different times, would they experience different things? Or would the fundamental struggle of good and evil remain the same?

And what of those everyday challenges that we all experience? We grow up, work hard to survive, some fall in love, others fall out of love, and all die. Do these experiences change simply because we live in different universes?

Regardless of where we live, or how we live, people are basically the same, although there are those select few that set themselves apart from others. Some may possess attributes that cause them to be alienated from the world. Others may wield special powers used for helping restore peace and balance. There are also those that wish to use their abilities for evil, and destroy the world.

What if one of these people somehow managed to discover an alternate world, and a means to travel there. Would they combine the abilities they posses from their world with the ones of the new universe, ultimately bringing them closer to their final goal: destruction?

* * *

**Update: I changed the summary a bit. Sasuke will still be in this fic, and he will play a major role, i just changed what that role is. Also, Orochimaru will not be the main antagonist like I had originally planned. Akatsuki will be.**

**I would just like to say that this site needs to allow more room when typing summaries. It is just too difficult to get a good summary with what they provide.**


	2. Months After

**Disclamer:** I do not own Naruto or Kingdom Hearts. This is purly a work of fan fiction, and will not be used commercially.

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**Chapter 1: Months After**

The sun set on the horizon, illuminating the small island with a warm glow. Three figures sat against the crooked tree that sprout out of the ground, relaxing from the hard day at school they had just experienced The tallest of the three, a silver-haired boy of sixteen, was staring off into the sunset, seemingly lost in thought. The other boy, who was slightly younger than the other and had spiky brown hair, was laying on the horizontal tree and dozing peacefully. The last person, a girl who's long red hair was blowing gently in the wind, glanced at the sleeping boy and giggled.

"Sora, you lazy bum, school isn't _that_ tiring," she said. Sora opened his eyes and glared at her.

"C'mon Kairi, I'm not used to having to go to school everyday. I haven't gone for two years," he excused.

"If anyone has reason to be sleeping so early, it's me. With all the training you and Riku have been putting me through, it's a wonder I haven't died from exhaustion yet," she said with another small laugh. Sora sat up and grinned.

"I told you, Kairi, I'm not leaving you on this island the next time I have to leave. You need to be able to fight."

"And what makes you think there'll be a next time?" Riku finally said. Sora frowned at him.

"And what makes you think there won't? There are still Heartless and Nobodies out there, and it's only a matter of time before someone tries to get Kingdom Hearts again. When that happens," he started as he jumped off the tree, "I want both of you to be with me."

"Sounds to me like you love your job a little too much," Riku mocked. Sora grinned and scratched the back of his head.

"Yea, traveling around different worlds was great! I had so much fun with Donald and Goofy. The only thing that would've made it even better was if you two had been there. Especially you, Kairi." Sora's comment surprised her.

"I mean, with Riku, I always knew that he would be able to take care of himself if he ran into trouble. But you... er, I mean, not that I thought you couldn't take care of yourself," Sora said quickly to save himself, "I was just worried, that's all..."

Kairi blushed.

"It's getting late," Riku said after a moment. "Time to go home. You need to rest up for tomorrow, Kairi. Saturday means no school, so it's ample time to get in plenty of training."

"Right!" Kairi said as she hopped off the tree. "I'm going to get stronger so I can help out next time!" With that, she summoned Flowering Strength, and held it out in front of her. Sora summoned the Kingdom Key and Riku summoned Way to Dawn, and touched the tips of their blades to Kairi's. A glowing light emanated from the tips of their weapons, illuminating their faces against the failing daylight. They held it like that for a moment. Sora looked from Riku's face to Kairi's and knew that no matter what he had to face in the future, as long as they were with him, he could accomplish anything.

"Alright!" he said. "We meet back here tomorrow morning at dawn!" Riku and Kairi smiled and nodded. Then, as they broke the pose, there was a brilliant flash of light, and the three of them raced off down the beach towards the docks.

--

That night, Sora had a dream. Or more accurately, a conversation. Ever since he had merged with Roxas, from time to time, the former Nobody would come to him in his sleep and talk with him. It was almost like a dream, because Sora lost no sleep over it. And yet, it wasn't a dream. It was as real as any conversation he would have with Kairi or Riku, only within himself.

The two of them had taken on an odd existence since the World that Never Was. They shared everything; the same body, the same memories, the same emotions. Yet at the same time, they were still two completely separate people, if you could even consider Roxas a person. Sora supposed that Kairi had formed a similar relationship with Naminé, but he had never bothered to ask.

As Sora laid his head on his pillow, he almost immediately felt that familiar sensation he and Roxas had affectionately named a "dive." Water seemed to rush past him as he fell farther and farther downward. He soon came to a stop and landed on a platform. On the platform was a stain glass mural. But this one was different than usual. Usually, the mural depicted Sora and Roxas standing back-to-back. On Sora's side were two windows with Riku and Kairi's face in them. On Roxas' side were another two that contained Naminé and Axel's face.

This one however, showed a boy Sora had never seen before. The boy wore a black and orange sweater and orange pants. He had a mess of spiky blond hair, deep blue eyes, and appeared to have whiskers. Around his forehead was a black headband that had a metal plate on the front. Etched into the plate was a swirly symbol that was shaped vaguely like a leaf. On his feet, he wore what looked like some type of sneaker, except his toes were exposed. He appeared to be pulling a strange shaped knife out of the pouch that was tied to his right leg.

Beside him was a girl with bright pink hair that fell to her shoulders and jade eyes. She wore her red headband so that the plate was on top of her head instead of on her forehead. She wore a red vest and black shorts, which were covered by a pink skirt that split up the middle and sides, allowing for better mobility. She had footwear similar to the boy's, except instead of sneakers, they looked more like heels, and they came up to nearly her knees. In the mural, she was in the process of putting on a pair of black gloves and she also had a pouch tied to her right leg.

Around the edge of the mural were an assortment of characters. Each person was unique and caught Sora's eye for different reasons, such as one man who's face was almost completely covered by a mask, a boy and girl who seemed to have no pupils, and another boy with a very ridiculous looking bowl cut. But the people that caught Sora's attention the most, were the ones that stood behind the blond and pink-haired girl, far in the background of the mural. Only their silhouettes were shown, but the way the one in the center glared with those strange, ringed eyes, caused a shiver to run down Sora's spine.

"That showed up this morning, after you left for school," Sora heard behind him. He turned around to see his own face staring back at him. Sora jumped in surprise and ended up on the ground. Roxas laughed.

"Ever the graceful one, aren't you?" he teased as he offered Sora a hand. Sora took it and Roxas pulled him to his feet.

"Do you have to sneak up on me like that?" Sora complained, although he didn't expect an answer. He looked back at the mural for a moment.

"Who do you think they are?" he asked his other self.

"I don't know, but whoever they are, they're important. And since the mural has changed, something is going to happen soon," Roxas answered knowingly.

"Yea, the question is, will we be prepared when it does happen?" Sora wondered. Roxas nodded in agreement, then grew solemn. Sora felt the sudden influx of sadness coming from his other.

"I feel so useless," Roxas growled. "All I can do is sit here and watch, I can never help you three out. I want to fight too!" he yelled. In a act of frustration, Roxas summoned his keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion, and struck at the ground with several bolts of light. He continued to attack for another few seconds before he stopped, leaving himself tired and panting. Sora put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You aren't useless, Roxas. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here. You've become like my brother in the last few months. More than that, even. You're just as important to me as Riku or Kairi." Roxas listened to him talk, and calmed down. Oathkeeper and Oblivion disappeared and Roxas sat down on the ground.

"Thanks, it's just frustrating, you know? Having to stay in this place all day, only being able to observe," Roxas sighed.

"You still get to see Naminé, right? Whenever me and Kairi are close to each other?"

"Yea, when you two are near each other, Naminé and Kairi's mural is close enough to ours that I can jump over to theirs and we can talk. But..."

"It's not enough," Sora finished for him. Roxas nodded. He didn't need to finish the sentence, though. They were so connected that Sora was fully aware of everything Roxas felt, and vice-versa. It was no secret between them that Sora desperately wished for more time with the red-head.

They sat and conversed for several more minutes before Roxas decided to get some sleep of his own.

"Make sure you're ready for whatever it is that's coming, Sora. Kairi has gotten a lot stronger, but if anything happens to her, it happens to Naminé. And if anything happens to her, I'll make sure you live to regret it," Roxas said coldly, although they both knew it wouldn't come to that. Sora would never let anything happen to Kairi as long as he was alive.

As Sora stood up, he looked back down at the mural. The blond boy's sapphire eyes seemed to stare right through him, and Sora had the oddest feeling of familiarity. It was almost as if he and the boy were the same person, much like how he and Roxas were the "same person."

"Yea, I get that feeling too," Roxas said voicing Sora's unspoken thoughts. "And you know who the girl reminds me of, don't you?" And Sora did know, because he felt it too.

"Kairi," he whispered.

"Yea. I get the feeling that these two are going to be very influential in whatever it is that's coming. And those figures behind them, they give me a really bad vibe."

"Yea, same here. I've got a really bad feeling about them," he said as the world around him began to fade.

"Be prepared, Sora. That's all I have to say." Roxas' voice grew more and more distant as their connection broke and Sora slowly faded back into dreams.

Outside his body, Sora tossed and turned on his bed, mumbling incoherently. Finally, as he stilled, a single word could barely be heard escaping his lips.

"Naruto..."

* * *

A/N: wow, i never expected that this story would do as well as it has so early. seriously, i hadn't even posted a real chapter yet and i already got several positive reviews and favs. and to all of you who faved my story and reviewed, i thank you from the very bottom of my thanking place. this story is turning out to be the most fun thing i've written so far. i'm so excited to continue this, and i'll be working on this as often as i can, between school work and such.


	3. Village of Leaves

**Disclamer:** I do not own Naruto or Kingdom Hearts. This is purly a work of fan fiction, and will not be used commercially.

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**Chapter 2: Village of Leaves**

The sun rose over the stone mountain, and slowly the features of the faces that were carved into its side became defined. The light glinted of the windows of the large building that sat at the foot of the mountain. Only last night, the person who lived in this building had lost several thousand dollars in a game of dice, and had spent the remainder of the night drinking herself to sleep. So it was not unreasonable to expect her to find the piercing light that now shone in her bedroom window extremely bothersome.

Gradually, the light made its way down the streets of the large village that surrounded the small mountain. Already, people were beginning to crowd the streets, preparing for the day ahead. Some took out trash, and several shops were opening for business. In the distance, a vast forest could be seen, concealing the village in its dense foliage, which is where the name of the village was derived from.

A single ray of light peeked through the blinds of an apartment building and shone in the eyes of a sleeping boy, effectively waking him. He blinked at the light and turned in his bed, groaning. Gradually, he sat up and scratched his head, messing his already disheveled blond hair. With a big yawn, he got up out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. After he finished his business, he walked into the kitchen and set some water on to boil. Empty ramen cups littered the floor of the kitchen, and the smell of miso permeated every inch of the apartment.

The boy pulled another cup out of the cabinet. He was down to his last dozen cups, and would have to go shopping for more by the end of the day. Soon the water reached a boil and a piercing whistle sounded. The boy turned off the stove, opened the cup, poured the water into it, and sat down at the table with another big yawn.

He did all this without so much as opening his eyes.

As he started to eat, Naruto recalled the dream he had had last night. Or at least he thought it had been a dream. He had certainly never met the brown-haired boy that was in the dream, or the red headed girl. He had watched the boy travel around different worlds, fighting strange creatures. He had seen strange, cloaked figures sitting in a all-white room. And the last thing he had seen, right before he woke up, was a boy with long silver hair, standing before Naruto, with his back turned. The boy turned around, and as he did so, he turned into Sasuke.

None of the things Naruto had seen had made any sense, so it had to have been a dream. And yet, it had been so _real_.

Thinking about it was giving him a headache, so he decided not to worry about it. It _was_ just a dream, after all...

Naruto finished his cup of ramen, and made another. Then when that one was gone, he made a third. Then after he had finished the fourth, he ran to his room and got dressed. He was supposed to meet the rest of Team 7 this morning for training.

Ever since the incident near the old Uchiha hideout, where they had been thoroughly defeated by the Akatsuki named Tobi, Naruto, as well as the rest of Team 7, had been training fiercely, from sunrise to sunset. And not only them, but it seemed that everywhere, the village was in preparation. Tsunade had been working with Gaara diligently over the last few weeks in order to increase their manpower, and they were even working on forging some form of an alliance with the Village Hidden in the Mist, although negotiations had not been going well. But in Konoha, ninja everywhere scrambled to fortify the village. Shinobi from Suna became a more common sight, and many of Konoha's ninja spent time in Suna, attempting to increase the defenses of the desert village.

They didn't know where or when Akatsuki would make their next move, but Konoha was going to make sure it was ready for it.

Naruto tied his headband to his forehead and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He ran his fingers over the whisker-like marks on his cheeks gingerly, as if they were some kind of wound. They had been there ever since he could remember, and since there were no baby pictures of himself before that damn fox attacked the village, Naruto had always assumed they were a side effect of the Kyuubi living inside him.

The Kyuubi. Everything that had ever happened in Naruto's life had been because of the Kyuubi. Or more accurately, because of the Fourth Hokage. Naruto looked out of his window and up to the stone face of the man who had altered his destiny without his permission. Most would expect, that after all he had put Naruto through, Naruto would hate the Fourth. Most would be wrong. Naruto didn't understand it himself, but he did not bare any ill will towards the Fourth Hokage. On the contrary, Naruto had more respect for him than any person he had ever met. The Fourth had made the tough decision, and sacrificed himself in order to protect Konoha. Regardless of how the result had turned out for Naruto, he knew that the Yondaime had meant no harm for him.

Naruto lowered his head from the window and checked the mirror one last time. The same blue eyes stared back at him, but it was not his face that appeared in the mirror. The person that was shown in the mirror had brown hair that was even spikier than Naruto's. It was the same boy that had been in his dream. Then, before he could get a good look at the boy, Naruto saw himself staring at his own reflection again.

He stood there for a moment, trying to comprehend what he had just seen. When his mind came up blank, he dismissed it as fatigue and left the apartment, locking the door behind him.

Naruto broke out into a sprint and headed towards the training ground. One his way, he passed Ichiraku Ramen. The heavenly aroma of fresh ramen reached Naruto's nose and it took all the strength he had not to rush in and buy a bowl. He made a mental note to stop after his training for the day was over.

Soon Naruto found himself entering the training grounds. He surveyed the area and quickly pulled out a kunai. The training grounds were empty.

For the last few months, there had always been a small mass of people in the training grounds. With all the preparations for Akatsuki's next attack, many ninjas had taken it on themselves to train, so one could always find at least half a dozen shinobi sparing or practicing jutsu. To find the grounds completely empty was so rare anymore, it was almost impossible.

Naruto crouched low and readied himself.

There was a flash and Naruto found himself fending off an assault from and unknown enemy. The attacker swung down with a kunai, which Naruto blocked with his own kunai. Naruto kicked at the enemy's left side and connected. There was a puff of smoke and a log stood where his opponent had seconds ago.

A replacement jutsu.

Naruto spun around in time to deflect a few shuriken that had been hurled in his direction. There was a movement to his right and he glanced in that direction, only to be kicked in the head. He flew a few yards, turned in the air, and landed on his feet. He looked up and saw a figure flying towards him. The sun was directly behind the person, so Naruto couldn't see who it was, but he could make out the raised fist. He jumped out of the way and the ground where he had been standing crumbled and cracked from the impact of the figure.

He hid himself in a tree to catch his breath. Another movement to his left caught his eye and he found himself staring down a strange black snake. The snake reared back and struck out, which Naruto dodged. He took off into the woods, hopping from tree to tree in an effort to loose the attacker. Finally, when he reached a clearing, he stopped in the center and surveyed his surroundings. When he saw that he was being followed by not one, but three people, he resorted to his most popular technique.

"If I can't take you out by myself," he said as he formed the hand signs, "how about thirty of me?" With that, he formed the final hand sign.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_" he yelled and twenty-nine more Naruto's came into existence They split into three groups, one for each of the attackers. They went after the enemies, overwhelming each of them in almost no time at all. Finally, the original Naruto held out his hand and began to channel his chakra into it while a clone alternated the chakra's current.

"_Rasengan!_" he called out as he thrusted the swirling mass of chakra towards the enemy. Then, when he was about to make the final blow on the one who had originally attacked him, they held up a hand and said in a familiar voice, "Stop!"

Then, as if he had been wearing a blindfold that was now removed, Naruto finally could see who it was that he was facing.

"K-Kakashi-sensei!?"

"Yo," Kakashi said in that usual lazy manner of his. Naruto became aware of two other presences next to him and he looked around.

"S-Sai, Sakura-chan! What were you guys doing?" Naruto asked.

"NARUTO!!" Sakura growled as she stalked over to him. Naruto put his arms over his head in a feeble attempt to protect himself. Sakura punched him in the face and he went flying several feet before crashing into the side of a tree. Kakashi sighed and scratched the side of his face while Sakura stomped over to a now unconscious Naruto.

Sai just stood there expressionless.

Sakura grabbed Naruto by the collar, picked him off of the ground, and began to shake him vigorously.

"What the hell is the matter with you? You baka, you nearly killed Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto let his head flap limply as she shook him.

"S-sorry, Sakura-chan," he apologized weakly.

* * *

A/N: well, i finally got this up. ive been really busy with school work lately and i havent had much time to write. my grades havent been all that great and ive missed too many days so ive had to stay after to make up time. luckily today i didnt have to stay after and i could get home and get this done.

im not as content with this chapter as i was with the previous, but o well, that happens from time to time. i couldve written more, but felt that this was as good a place as any to stop. it also gives me a place to start for the next chapter with naruto. chapter three is going to go back to sora, and i plan on alternating between sora and naruto until they finally meet up.

i would also like to take this time to say something in regards to Kairi's keyblade. without knowing it, i used someone else's name for it. you see, at the time i wrote the last chapter, for some reason, i thought that Flowering Strength was the actual name given for her keyblade. aparently it wasn't and i would just like to apologize to Mrfipp for using his name without permission. also, if its alright, i would like to continue using it because i feel that it is the perfect name for Kairi's keyblade.

chapter three will probably take some time to finish. as ive said, ive been really busy with school. i only have one month left of my high school career and ive already been accepted to college. i want to make sure i graduate.


	4. The Wheels Begin to Turn

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or Kingdom Hearts. This is purely a work of fan fiction, and will not be used commercially. Also, there is a scene from Kingdom Hearts II in this chapter. I did not create this, I simply re-stated it for the effect of progressing the story.

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Wheels Begin to Turn**

Kairi stepped onto the sand and watched as the sun slowly crept skyward, illuminating the small island and setting the water on fire. She had loved the sea for as long as she could remember, it was in her name(1), but there was something about the sea at sunrise that truly left her speechless.

Kairi wandered around the small island aimlessly for a few minutes, with nothing on her mind except the conversation she had held with her Nobody the previous night. Kairi always enjoyed her talks with Naminé. The soft-spoken girl was very easy to talk to, probably because it was as though Kairi was talking to herself.

They had discussed many things, mainly of which included Naminé's equal displeasure of the way she existed, although she would never make a fuss over it. She had spent so long captive by Organization XIII that she had become very intolerant to confinement. While she had much more freedom now that she had merged with Kairi, in many ways, it was just another cage.

The part of the conversation that Kairi remembered most, though, was about the change in the mural. It was different than the usual one, where Kairi and Naminé stood facing each other, holding each other's hands in front of their faces, with pictures of Sora and Riku behind Kairi and pictures of Roxas and Axel behind Naminé. The new one was the same as the one Sora had discovered that same night. When Kairi had looked into the green eyes of the pink-haired girl, she got the same feeling of familiarity that Sora had gotten when he looked at the blond.

She eventually found herself in the small cave that Sora had shown to her when she first arrived on the islands. She scanned the walls, looking at the various doodles that adorned them. Most of them had already been drawn by the time Kairi had gotten there, but there was one in particular that she and Sora had done together. She knelt down in front of the drawing of Sora and herself and ran her fingers over it in the same manner she had done when she had finally gotten back to the islands after Sora and Riku had sealed Kingdom Hearts. She had cried when she saw the drawing. For years before, she had toyed with the idea, but when she first saw the little addition to the picture, she had finally come to terms with her feelings for Sora. It had been a bitter sweet moment, for she didn't know at the time if she would ever see Sora again.

Of course, when she finally _did_ see him again at the Organization's castle, she had been so overjoyed, she hadn't really believed that it was real. She had rushed him and hugged him and when he hugged her back and she could hear his heartbeat, she had inwardly prayed that the moment would last forever. It hadn't, but the feeling still lingered even now, as she looked at the drawing again and a small tear ran down her cheek.

"K-Kairi?" She turned her head to see a blushing Sora standing by the opening to the cave.

--

Sora rowed up slowly to the dock and began to tie his boat up. A cool sea breeze blew past him, sending a shiver down his spine. Winter was on its way. Sora was reminded of the previous year, when he had helped Jack Skellington save Christmas Town from a renegade experiment.

He remembered Sally telling him that presents were a way of giving you heart to someone special, and that the really important part about giving gifts, was wishing deep down in your heart to make someone else happy.

He remembered Donald and Goofy telling him that as long as Kairi could be with him, she didn't need anything else.

He remembered watching Jack and Sally dance in the snow and immediately thought about doing the same with Kairi.

He decided right then that when Christmas came around again, he was going to make sure he got Kairi the best present ever.

Sora stepped onto the dock. There was only one other boat tied up, and ironically enough, it was Kairi's.

_Maybe I'll be able to give her what's in my heart sooner than Christmas_, Sora thought as he realized that he and Kairi were the only people on the whole island. He searched around for the girl, and when he didn't find her anywhere outside, he realized she was at the secret place.

Sora pushed the vines out of the way and stepped into the narrow passageway. He found himself walking into a small cave. Little drawings and doodles littered the walls, but he found Kairi kneeling in front of his favorite one.

When Kairi had first arrived on the islands, Sora had brought her to this place. They had drawn a picture of each other as a small gesture of their growing friendship at the time. Kairi had done a picture of Sora, and Sora had drawn a rather crude sketch of Kairi. Years later, right before Sora first left the islands, he had added to the picture. He had drawn himself feeding Kairi a paopu fruit. At the time, he hadn't considered that she would ever see it, it being such a profound expression of his feelings for her. He had never been embarrassed about how he felt about her, but as he saw her staring at the picture, his face grew very hot and his heart began to beat faster.

An addition had been made in between the time Sora had first left the islands, to the time he had finally returned. The sketch of Kairi was now feeding the sketch of Sora a paopu, which Sora hoped signified that Kairi returned his feelings, although he had always been to afraid to ask about it or to confess himself.

"K-Kairi?" he called out to her. She turned her head and at the sight of Sora, her cheeks turned a slight pinkish color. She stood up and brushed the dirt off her knees. They stood like that, neither saying anything, for a whole minute.

"Umm," they both started at the same time. This only caused them to blush even more. Sora scratched the back of his head as a nervous gesture.

"Y-you first," he said. Kairi looked down at the drawing again.

"Did you do that?" she asked, pointing to the arm from Sora's face to hers She knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it from him.

"Y-yeah..." Sora said sheepishly. "D-did you do that?" he asked, indicating the arm from Kairi's face to his. Kairi blushed more and nodded. Her heart was beating incredibly fast as she asked the next question.

"Why?" she asked so softly, it was barely audible.

"W-well, you know..." Sora began. "I j-just... I don't know... I mean, its just a childish superstition, r-right?"

"Y-yeah..." Kairi said. Sora thought she looked disappointed.

_Damn it. I'm such an idiot!_ he thought to himself. _This is it! This is my chance to tell her!_ He took a deep breath.

"K-Kairi! I..."

"Hey! Where are you guys?" they heard Riku call from the beach.

_Figures,_Sora thought. Kairi quickly brushed past him and left the cave. Sora followed suit. Riku was standing at the entrance to the cave with a smug grin on his face.

"Well, didn't interrupt anything, did I?" He looked between Sora and Kairi who were both blushing furiously, and laughed. Kairi, not only embarrassed but agitated by Riku's accusation, stomped over to him, summoned her keyblade, and whacked him on the top of his head. It hurt like hell, but Riku laughed, summoned Way to Dawn, and swung at her. Kairi easily dodged it and jumped backwards several feet.

"Getting anxious to fight, are we?" he said playfully as he rushed after her. He quickly reached her and swung his keyblade horizontally Kairi blocked it and as fluidly as water, spun around to Riku's back and struck. Being a more seasoned fighter, Riku had no problem moving out of the way. Now Kairi was laughing . She jumped high in the air, spun once, and swung downward. Riku managed to block it, but the shear force of the blow nearly brought him to his knees.

Sora stood back and watched his two friends fight. Kairi had become unbelievably stronger. When they had first started this training regime, not only had it been nearly impossible for her to land a hit, but she usually ended up sporting a wide variety of bruises and scrapes by the end of the day. At the beginning, Sora and Riku had to hold back quite a lot in order to prevent causing serious injury to their friend, but she soon caught up enough so that, when fighting one-on-one, Sora and Riku had to fight seriously in order to prevent injuries of their own. Being a girl, Kairi was much more agile and flexible than either Sora or Riku. What she lacked in physical strength, she more than made up for in speed and dexterity. She also seemed to have an affinity for magic and quickly developed her own unique fighting style. Where Sora lunged at his opponents and overwhelmed them with a flurry of blows so fast you couldn't see them, and where Riku combined swordplay with some of his powers from associating with the darkness, Kairi had a tendency to kind of roll around her opponents. You could never keep you eyes on her for too long before she was coming up from behind you for another attack. She would flow around her enemy, moving with their attacks, then blast them with some spell.

Sora couldn't help but be amazed by her. She was so graceful, even when she was fighting. He watched her move and dodge around Riku as her fiery red hair whipped around her face.

She was absolutely beautiful.

"Hey loser! Come give me a hand with her, will ya?" Riku called out, snapping Sora back to his senses. Sora crouched low, summoned his own keyblade, and rushed into the fray, laughing all the way.

He reached Kairi and in the span of three seconds, had struck nine times, only two of which actually connected with anything. Kairi managed to dodge most of them and block the rest. Sora jumped back as she struck at his middle. Riku came up behind her and blasted her with a few shots of darkness, which she nimbly spun away from. Riku landed next to Sora.

"She's gotten a lot better, don't you think?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sora said, "but you know, it's not really fair for her to have to fight _both_of us." Riku eyes gleamed.

"I got an idea," he said with a mischievous grin. "How about... battle royal!" As soon as he said this, he swung at Sora's side. Sora had just enough time to block Riku's attack before Kairi swooped in with her own. Sora now found himself fending off both Riku and Kairi and was quickly loosing ground. Eventually, Kairi turned her attention to Riku, giving Sora an opportunity to get his footing before he lunged after them and rejoined the fray.

--

Sora plopped down on the sand, panting heavily. He was covered in sweat. They had continued fighting all through the day. All three of them where exhausted, and fresh, purple bruises where sprouting up here and there. They sat down on the warm sand to rest.

"You know," Riku said between heavy breaths, "I don't think there's anything else we can teach you, Kairi." Kairi smiled and gave the sign for victory.

"Good. I'm not going to be a damsel in distress anymore." Sora fell back and layed in the sand.

"I wonder how much longer this is gonna last?" he said.

"Yeah. You noticed that the mural's changed, didn't you Sora?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah, I did. I wonder who those people on it are? Especially that blond kid. It was like I knew him from somewhere, but I've never seen him before in my life."

"Really?" Kairi asked surprised. "I got the exact same feeling when I looked at the pink-haired girl."

"What did Roxas and Naminé think?" Riku asked. Soon after they got back to the islands, the three of them shared with each other exactly what they had all been through since they had first left. Sora had told them about the murals, and about how he could talk to Roxas there when he was asleep. He hadn't been surprised to hear that Kairi could do the same thing with Naminé.

"Naminé seems to think that something is about to happen, and that the boy and girl in the mural are involved in it," Kairi said.

"Don't forget about the figures in the background," Sora added.

"What exactly was on this mural?" Riku asked. Sora and Kairi told him all about the two people in the mural, as well as the figures in the background and the faces around the edge.

"You didn't see a boy with spiky-black hair and red eyes?" Sora and Kairi shook their heads in confusion.

"What exactly are you talking about, Riku?" Sora asked.

"Well, the last few nights I've been having this strange dream. I'm in this room. There's blood all over the walls and floor, and there are two bodies lying in the middle of the room. There's a small boy standing over them crying, but I can't see his face. Then I'm in a hallway. The only light are from candles that line the wall, so there isn't a whole lot of light. I'm walking down the corridor, and then I start to hear this hissing laughter, almost like a snake laughing. Then I'm in a cave or something, and there's a guy standing over me. He's wearing a black robe with red clouds on it and a swirly orange mask. Then there isn't anything. It's like I'm back in the realm of darkness, and I can't see anything around me. All of a sudden, there's a guy standing in front of me with his back turned. He's wearing really weird clothing, and has a rope tied around his waist with a sword hanging from his side. He's got spiky-black hair, and when he turns around, I can see that he's got red eyes. Then I wake up." Riku finished his story and Sora and Kairi look at each other.

"I don't remember seeing anyone like that. What makes you bring it up?" Kairi asked.

"Well, it's just that he felt really familiar," Riku explained. "It was almost like I had known him my entire life,"

--

Sora ran across the bridge to the small island. Riku sat on the crooked paopu tree staring off at the sunset. When Sora reached the tree, he jumped up onto it, then jumped down on the other side and leaned back on it, putting his hands behind his head to relax from the hard day of training they had had. He looked out onto the horizon as the sun slowly crept below the water, turning the normally blue ocean a bright red.

_Even after all we've been through, in the end..._Sora thought.

"Nothing's changed, huh?" Riku said, completing Sora's thought.

"Nope," Sora replied, "nothing will." He felt a slight pang of regret at that, there were a few things that Sora would like to change...

"What a small world," Riku said slightly astounded.

"But part of one that's much bigger," Sora included matter-of-factly. Riku thought about it, and he had to agree.

"Yeah..." he said. They both slipped back into silence, and continued to watch the sun set. Sora thought back to when he and Riku had just defeated Xemnas, and when they found themselves on that strange beach. A thought popped into his head.

"Hey Riku," he asked, "what do you think it was, the door to the light?" Riku laughed and jumped down from the tree.

"This," he said as he pointed to Sora's chest.

"This?" Sora said confused as he placed his hand where Riku had pointed.

"Yeah. It's always closer than you think," Riku told him. It was then that it came to Sora. He smiled.

"Sora! Riku!" The two boys looked towards the shack to see Kairi running towards them with something in her hands. She quickly reached them and stopped, panting.

"Hey, what's up?" Sora asked concerned. Kairi held up the item in her hands. A bottle.

"Look," she said. Sora looked at the bottle and immediately recognized the King's crest on the message inside it.

"From the King?" he asked. The moment he had been waiting for had finally come. He quickly took the bottle from Kairi, shook out the message, and began reading it. Both Riku and Kairi looked over his shoulder, so that they could read it too.

_Dear Sora, Riku, and Kairi,_

_We have a problem. Master Yen Sid has told me that some new enemies are trying to get to Kingdom Hearts. Right now, Goofy, Donald, and myself are preparing to board a Gummi ship to come get you guys. We should get there a few days after you get this message. That gives you all some time to prepare. Make sure you're ready. I get the feeling that this battle is gonna be unlike anything we've dealt with before._

_I hope Kairi is ready to fight, 'cause I'm sure we're gonna need her help too._

_Your friend,_

_King Mickey_

_P.S. Give my regards to Roxas and Namin__é_

"What do you think it could be?" Kairi asked.

"I don't know," Riku answered, "but I have a feeling it has something to do with the dreams we've been having."

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "But whatever it is, we'll be ready."

* * *

A/N: miss me? ok, so i graduated from high school. problem is, i couldn't afford to go to college just yet, so i have to wait till the spring at the soonest. this leaves me with a LOT of free time

you would think that, with all the free time i have, i'd be able to turn out chapters quicker than one every three or four months. you would think wrong. as ive said before, im incredibly lazy. mix that in with writer's block, and its a recipe for disaster. luckily for you guys, my internet went out. i didnt have anything to do, so i started on this again. truth be told, i had about 30 percent of this chapter written months ago, but i couldn't think of what to write and i never finished it. when i actually sat down and forced myself to work on it, it all came pretty easily. Chapter 4 is currently at about 30 words, so it will probably take a while before it comes out. Chapter 5 is actually mostely done.

right now, i have a dial-up connection set up on my laptop, and im sure most of you know how much ass dial-up sucks. i probably wont be on the internet nearly as much as i normally am, so i wont have as much distraction. therefore, Chapter 4 may come out sooner than anticipated. keep ur fingers crossed.

(1) ok, i really don't think i need to say this, but just incase there is anyone out there who _doesn't _know this, the kanji for sea is _kai._


	5. A Word to my Readers

Long time no see, huh? I know it's been forever since I posted a new chapter, and I'm sorry to say it'll be quite a while before I post another. A series of unforeseen events has led to this undesired hiatus. I was working on the newest chapter, and believe me, it was turning out really well. I know you all would have loved it. However, right before I put the finishing touches, my hard drive crashed. Stupid me never backed up my files, so I lost everything I had on that comp. It was another few months before I managed to get a new one, but I no longer have everything I had written. Well, after all that I kind of lost the will to go on with it... for now at least. I love what I had written before so well, that I can't seem to start it up again, because I know it won't be as good. I promise, I will eventually sit back down and start over, but I have no idea when I'll find the inspiration... or the motivation.

Till then, I thank you all for your support up until now, and I hope you will continue to wait patiently for the next chapter.


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